The present invention relates to an insulating target material suitably used for radio frequency (RF) sputtering, a method of manufacturing the insulating target material, an insulating complex oxide film, and a device.
A target for obtaining a complex oxide film by sputtering is generally obtained as follows. For example, a target for obtaining a perovskite oxide film of the general formula ABO3 is obtained by pulverizing oxide raw materials of the element A and the element B, mixing the oxide raw materials taking the stoichiometric composition into consideration, and sintering the mixture. A material disclosed in JP-A-10-176264 has been known as such a target, for example. This document discloses a sputtering target for a perovskite oxide of the chemical formula ABO3 which has a specific relative density and size. When forming a target using such a sintering method, a treatment at a temperature as high as 900 to 1000° C. is required, as described in the paragraph [0050] of JP-A-10-176264.